If you are a sports lover, then you must come down to Tampa Bay, Florida. Here, you can be a spectator of every kind of sport you can think of, from the American classics of football, baseball and hockey to European favorites like soccer. On top of those, there are the college teams and spring training. Many professional baseball teams take advantage of Tampa Bay Stadium and surrounding areas for its weather and practice for the new season.

Since many of these teams come from colder areas of the country, the early spring warm air is welcome. Hard core baseball fans flock to Tampa Bay Stadium and surrounding facilities and fields to see their favorite team prepare for the new season and see how they look against the competition. Many of these pre-season games are held at George M. Steinbrenner Field, located right across the highway from Raymond James Stadium.

The old Tampa Bay Stadium is gone and is now replaced by the mighty Raymond James Stadium. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, formed in 1976, started out rocky and lost their first 26 games. This set a record which no one was proud of. In the 1970s, the team had some brief success before returning to another losing streak. Then, new coach Tony Dungy came on in 1996 and the team finally earned a long awaited Super Bowl title in 2002 with the lead of Coach John Gruden. Tampa Bay’s new stadium has seen two super bowls, Super Bowl XXXV in 2001 and Super Bowl XLIII in 2009. Tampa Bay also hosted two earlier super bowls in the old stadium, Super Bowl XVIII in 1984 and Super Bowl XXV in 1991.

The Buccaneers first took the field at Tampa Bay Stadium, also known as the Raymond James Stadium, in 1998. Football fans were wowed as they entered this brand new modern stadium for the first time. With its modern design concepts and ultimate guest experience, the new stadium became the area’s top choice for special events and concerts like Monster Jam and Kenny Chesney. It is also now considered as one of the best stadiums in the NFL. Other teams to play here at the Raymond James Stadium include University of South Florida Bulls, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and it is also the venue for the New Year’s Day Outback Bowl. The facility is named after Raymond James Financial, Inc and is publicly owned and managed by Tampa Sports Authority.